Obsidian Sea put the -epic- in epic doom metal; they glorify traditional doom metal, heighten it to spiritual altitudes, simplify and beautify it. With _Between Two Deserts_, epic doom metal has never sounded so sexy, larger-than-life and still quite sinister and dark. _Between Two Deserts_ is traditional doom metal inflated, magnified and upgraded. Elephantine, towering and oozing with sex appeal, this Bulgarian band's debut album sounds like a cross-over between _Gothic_-era Paradise Lost and Tristitia's _One With Darkness_ (especially in the vocal department and the general atmospherics), with some hefty doses of Black Sabbath-esque leanings; therefore the outcome is unexpectedly fresh, uniquely sounding but comfortably familiar, yet owns an intrinsic dark streak of malevolence and black magick.

Similar to The Wounded Kings (or Abysmal Grief, for that matter), the doom etiquette explored and executed so well by Obsidian Sea is of the kind that is embedded in classic riffs and classic sounds yet is devoid of the 'stoner' element; instead, the band infuses gothic innuendos into its doom, allowing the music to drift towards melancholic and darker realms, summoning occult-like visions and left-hand path ceremonies.

The music is outrageously appealing due to the aforementioned method of writing alienating riffs -- deliberately using some dissonant, off-key 'chords' -- and coupling them with a very familiar, even cozy set of riffs rooted deeply within the '70s heavy metal of the style's originators, namely Black Sabbath who did execute, on their earlier recordings, exactly that dual method of mixing the familiar and the sinister together. The outcome was both appealing and estranged, which in turn amplified the band's darker tones and overall notoriety.

Coupling the tight, epic, enjoyable music captured on _Between Two Deserts_ with intelligent, esoterically-inclined texts, Obsidian Sea thus deliver a good first full-length effort that will find its place in many a heart; an album that is also the best traditional/epic doom metal recording ever released by Solitude Productions. And you can take that to the bank!